


Cure-All

by frequencyFragmented



Series: Hellbent [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Teen Arlong, Toddler Shyarly, t for mild swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 05:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10483449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frequencyFragmented/pseuds/frequencyFragmented
Summary: Shyarly is giving Arlong trouble, and he doesn't know what to do. But there's someone he can always turn to.One-shot. Can be read apart from the rest of Hellbent.





	

Arlong cursed his father loudly as he ran through the small, cramped apartment and dug through the various piles of clothing and toys. Eventually he managed to find the prize he sought at the very bottom of a dirty laundry basket, and he swore once more as he dug to it. 

After he retrieved it, Arlong wove his way through the messy maze until he wound up back where he started: Shyarly’s room. He opened the door and winced at the piercing shrieks. He approached his sister’s crib and held out one of her favorite items placatingly. “Is this what you wanted?”

The large toddler stopped yowling for just long enough to see what Arlong had brought her, and then puffed up her cheeks, shook her head, and begun again. Arlong grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to think of something, anything that would placate her.

Idly, he recalled that this wasn’t the first time this month he had done that exact series of events, let alone the first time this week, and the repetition was driving him crazy. 

He tried several more objects that he knew Shyarly was fond of, with little success. Arlong knew she wasn’t hungry, because it had only been two hours since she last ate. She wasn’t tired, because she had taken a nap and managed to sleep for a good hour, and she hadn’t had nightmares all week. There was zero reason for her to be so upset. With a groan he realized he was going to have to ask for help.

He scooped up his sister with an obnoxious amount of difficulty. Toddlers shouldn’t be so big already, he thought, and definitely not so eager to wiggle away from him. “C’mon, at least let me take you to Brother Tai without fussing.” Shyarly, ever the difficult sister, made a face and tried to squirm out of his arms and onto the floor. Arlong merely adjusted his hold on her.

As usual, the front door was jammed, and as usual, Shyarly took advantage of the fact that he couldn’t hold her with both hands and open the door. She smacked him in the stomach with her tail, causing Arlong to hiss in pain and nearly drop her. However, he had gotten use to her devious tricks, and refused to let go, not even when she started gnawing on his arm with her sharp little fangs. Finally he managed to get the door to open, and he swore for the fifth time this week that he was going to have Hachi fix it whenever the octopus fishman finally came back home.

If Hachi was still here, taking care of Shyarly would be so much easier, Arlong thought with a sigh. The octopus fishman had up and disappeared months ago, with no word of where he was going or when he would be back, but that was hardly uncommon in the Fishman District. But his ability to cheer Shyarly up was sorely missed.

The oversized toddler had stopped crying, for now, but only because she was crafting a way to get away. Arlong could see her plotting even as he took her where she wanted to be.

Fisher Tiger lived in an apartment complex not far from Arlong, but that was only because all of the different complexes were shoved together, like someone who was trying to fit as many sardines into a can as possible. But it was high up, and the elevator was constantly broken, meaning taking the stairs up twelve flights. As he stared up at the cold, concrete stairs with its wobbly railing, Arlong tried to make his inevitable suffering more positive by telling himself that at least he’d get to see his cru-...hero. 

Shyarly bit his arm. “Ack! Stop being so difficult, you little tyrant! I’m taking you to see Brother Tai!”

“Tai-tai?” Shyarly warbled at him.

“Tai-tai.” Arlong repeated.

“Tai-tai!” Shyarly grinned, tossing her hands up in the air, and Arlong couldn’t help noticing that her teeth were stained with his blood. Fuck, her teeth were way too sharp for a toddler! Even for a shark mermaid, it was too much. At least she wasn’t teething anymore, Arlong consoled himself. Images of returning home to find everything, even the couch and the tables, chewed up still plagued his dreams.

They made their way up the stairs slowly, as Shyarly was now full of eager energy and wouldn’t stop moving. Eventually, Arlong gave up and let her bubble her waist so that she could float, allowing her to roam as much as she wanted. So long as she didn’t let go of his hand. Even if this was Tiger’s building, he didn’t trust any of its inhabitants not to snatch his baby sister. Shyarly hummed as she led the way, having been to Tiger’s apartment so often that she could probably find it in her sleep.

When they finally reached Fisher’s apartment, it was nearly dusk. 

“Oh, it’s Arlong-nii and Shyarly-chan. Come on it.” Fisher greeted when he opened the door. Arlong flashed an apologetic smile to the man he idolized. They dropped by far too frequently to be polite, and Arlong felt awkward about having to constantly have his hero help him handle his little sister.

“Tai-tai, can you play the piano?” Shyarly asked the moment they stepped into the living room. And there it was. The only thing that would make Shyarly stop crying. The long, wooden piano was the cure-all, the only thing that made her behave. And Arlong couldn’t blame her, because it was the only thing that could always make him feel better, too. Tiger was a damn good player.

Tiger laughed.”You sure don’t have much tact yet, kid. But sure.” He grinned at Arlong. “You wanna keep up your lessons, too, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to, to keep her from driving you crazy.” Arlong said. And he meant it, for the most part. He was learning how to play so that he could calm Shyarly without asking for help. But a smaller part of him also wanted to learn because he wanted to spend time with Tiger. It was something unique, something the other orphans wouldn’t do with Tiger, and something that was bonding them together. It was fun and easy and Arlong wouldn’t trade his piano lessons with Tiger for anything in the world.

Shyarly nestled herself in Tiger’s second-hand couch, a grin on her face, and the two sat on the bench together. Tiger tested Arlong’s memory, asking him to play what they’d worked on last time from memory as a warm-up. It was a simple sea shanty, Bink’s Booze, and Arlong was pleased that he remembered most of it. He tossed a glance over his shoulder and saw Shyarly watching contently.

They played the piano for countless songs, until Arlong could barely keep himself up, and he resigned himself to making sure that the now-sleeping Shyarly didn’t fall onto the floor by sitting next to her. Tiger kept on playing.

Around 8, Jinbe dropped by to say hello. He lived in the same complex, but a floor above. He noticed Tiger’s company with an amused smile. Shyarly and Arlong were both passed out on the couch. Jinbe sighed good-naturedly. “They came over again?”

Tiger nodded. “Shyarly has been giving him a rough time, I think. His face is going to be stuck in a permanent frown some day.” He laughed quietly.

Jinbe smirked. “That might be better than his pirate-hunting grin, though.”

Tiger crossed his arms with an indifferent shrug. “Well, can you blame him for enjoying it? Human pirates are the reason he has to play father at such a young age.”

Jinbe closed his eyes and sighed. “They’re the reason we all have had such harsh lives.” He opened them and watched Arlong and Shyarly’s chests rise and fall for a few moments. “He’s too young to be taking care of her. He’s what, 17?” 

It had only been two years since Shyarly was dropped into Arlong’s life, and the kid had no idea how to take care of a baby when he was just coming out of pre-pubescence. Arlong and Jinbe had frequently butted heads before, but now they frequently set aside their differences to help one another. As Tiger had taught them and had shown them first-hand when they were children.

Tiger nodded in agreement. “They need my help.” So many people did. It was why he didn’t mind Arlong coming over so often, why he didn’t mind scraping up his spare cash and giving it out to the kids that could barely keep themselves alive, why he had unified the Fishman District to help one another as much as they could. “Though I might buy them a piano, just so they’ll stay at home.”

Jinbe smiled genuinely, a rare thing for him lately. “Honestly, Brother Tai, it’s a wonder what we’d do without you. We’re just kids, thrown into this terrible neighborhood, forgotten about. I’m glad you’re here.”

Tiger shook his head, unwilling to take the praise. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have minded stepping up and doing it yourself, Jinbe. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

Jinbe considered it, but couldn’t imagine himself doing such a job nearly as well as Fisher Tiger had. “We ought to let them sleep. Arlong has a double shift tomorrow. I’d already volunteered to babysit Shyarly since I have tomorrow off.”

Tiger smiled. “You would do fine if anything ever happened to me, Jinbe. Just keep an eye on everyone, that’s all I ask.”

Jinbe smiled sheepishly. “I’ll try my best, Brother Tai.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a one-shot about Arlong's background for a while now. I might write a few more because honestly Arlong trying to take care of Shyarly definitely gives me some feels, and I love being able to explore the relationships between the younger Fishmen.


End file.
